Saturday, March 12, 2011

Ooooooklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain (and creates huge wildfires!)

I was sent down to Oklahoma for work training, as all new full-time employees are with my company. I was completely pumped to go back to Norman and see all of my friends from last summer and make some new ones! Who knew one could be excited to travel from mountain-y Alaska to flat Oklahoma?!?! It can happen!
My training class was a BLAST! We had a ton of fun together. Though you can't make out any faces in the photo above, it was only our first night, and we were already pulling pranks on our instructors. The funny part was, that me and another girl were the youngest there. That means there were a lot of fun-loving, slightly immature people in my group. :)
On our last day of training, Sean, one of the guys I worked with last summer, gave us a tour of the storm chasing vehicles. I was so excited, probe 4 was still there!! OU bought it for research, so it should be there for years to come. Apparently, we are in an imax film called "Tornado Alley" that was filmed last summer during our field season. I haven't seen it since it hasn't filmed in Alaska, but I hear my star role in the film is standing around in a parking and giving high-fives at the end. I didn't expect anything more in depth, but was amused that my friend from college picked me out.
Probe 4 still has the baseball-sized hail dent from the Dumas TX storm, May 18, 2010!

Though I forgot to take a photo of a big dinner table of V2 folks from last summer, I did remember to take one as the number of night-crawlers dwindled. Here's Kim, Kristin (one of my navigators), Ryan, and Kent.
While in Norman, I hoped to see some storms but instead got a big wildfire. The smoke zoomed by my hotel, and I watched the fire coverage on TV.. which was kind of nerve-wracking as the fire consumed homes just to my southwest. Then it was time to head to Seattle.. to explore some new lands and see some old friends!

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